Stag and Doe: A Lily and James Story
by GryffindorForever16
Summary: The Hogwarts Head Boy and Girl of 1977 have a very complicated relationship. After all, how does one handle falling for her long hated enemy? How does one try to forget the love of his life? Everything that is meant to be will be, and this story, it was meant to be! The love story of Lily and James Potter starting from the day it all began on the Hogwarts Express in seventh year.
1. It's Going to be a Great Year

**Stag and Doe: A Lily and James Story**

**Chapter One: It's Going to be a Great Year**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters. That right belongs to the one and only talented J.K. Rowling. Too bad...**

"Lily Pad!" Shrieked a girls voice from somewhere on the other side of the platform.

Lily turned towards the noise and saw her five foot tall best friend Alice Fortescue jumping up and down and waving her hands in the air like a mad woman. Lily laughed, it was just such an Alice thing to do. She waved at her best friend and slowly started to fight her way through the crowed platform towards her. Alice didn't seem to notice this however, because she soon climbed onto her boyfriend's shoulders so that she could see through the crowd and spot Lily. When Lily finally reached them five minutes later, Alice was still up on Franks shoulders. Only now she was making much more use of her position that to just search for Lily.

Alice had been dating Frank Longbottom for just over a year now, but anybody could tell that the two were perfect for each other. Lily cleared her throat politely. "Hi Frank," she said giving him a hug. "Hi Alice," she said looking up at her best friend. Alice didn't even seem the least bit ashamed as she dismounted Frank and gave Lily a big hug.

"Hello Lily Pad!" Alice said dramatically. "What took you so long? I haven't seen you in ages!"

Lily laughed. "Alice, look around. Have you not seen this platform before?" She said, gesturing around the crowded platform. "And you saw me two days ago!"

"I know. I know." Alice said exasperatedly, "but it seems like such a long time ago!" This time both Lily and Frank laughed at her.

"Well I'm here now," said Lily. "What was the rush for?"

Alice laughed. "We need to find a compartment silly!"

Lily looked at her. "Now we don't. Alice, neither one of us is even going to be-"

Alice cut her off, "it's tradition Lily Pad. I don't care if we're going to spend most of our time in the prefect compartment. We still need to find one even if we don't put our bags in it."

Lily sighed. There really was no point in arguing with Alice once she was on a roll. "Fine, lead the way."

"Yaaay!" Alice exclaimed clapping her hands. She grabbed Lily's hands and started to drag her towards the train. She gave Frank a peck on the lips, "Bags?" She asked him sweetly.

Frank laughed. Alice had him wrapped around her little finger there was nothing he wouldn't do for her. He picked up all three of their trunks. "Yes dear," he said.

"Alice!" Lily admonished through chuckles, "he's not your pack mule!"

"It's okay Lily," he said. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?" She asked. "I don't mind taking mine." Although he didn't appear to be having any trouble with the three trunks, she wanted to offer anyway. It's amazing what Quidditch can do to the body she thought. Frank was a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and he defiantly had the muscles and body to prove it. Something Alice was very grateful for.

"Yes Lily," he said again. " I don't mind, really. Besides, we can't have our head girl get tired by carrying her own luggage, can we?"

Lily smiled genuinely, "Thanks Frank," she said again, while looking down at the shiny new badge on her chest for the umpteenth time. She still couldn't believe it was real. Her fingers traced over the engraved HG on the badge. Lily couldn't believe that she was the head girl of Hogwarts. She had always dreamed of this, but now that it was actually happening, she was still in shock over it. Lily was snapped out of her thoughts by Alice tugging on her arm.

"Come on Lily Pad," Alice said. "Hurry up or all the good compartments will be gone!" She started dragging Lily across the platform again. Lily chuckled and let Alice pull her through the crowd towards the Hogwarts Express. Frank, not even bothering to hide his booming laugh, trailed behind the two girls as their party of three made its way to the train.

When they finally found what Alice had deemed to be the best compartment, Frank had heaved all of their trunks onto the luggage rack and the three of them collapsed onto the seats.

"I think it's even busier than last year out there," Frank said gesturing towards the window and the platform beyond it.

"I know, can you guys believe that we won't be doing this next year? This is our last train ride to Hogwarts," she said sadly.

Lily looked outside at the platform sadly. "I hadn't thought about it like that."

The three of them were quiet for a moment while they were wrapped up in their own thoughts. "Oh well," Alice said excitedly. "This is gonna be a great year. I'm a prefect, Frank is going to win his seventh consecutive Quidditch Cup, and Lily Pad here is our head girl."

Lily chuckled. This behaviour was just so Alice, sad one minute and happy the next, the girl really couldn't hold a grudge. "I don't know Alice," she said. "Being head comes with a lot of responsibilities!"

Alice looked at her, "Lily Pad," she said slowly, "let's be serious here. You live for responsibility. You thrive from it. You're going to be a great head girl, don't worry about it. Plus, think about the benefits. A private room, common room and Bathroom, and you get to live with the head boy for the next ten months. I wonder where the dorm is. I wonder who the head boy is...maybe he's cute. Ohhhh...I wonder-"

"Enough Alice!" Lily shriek-shouted at her best friend. She loved her to death, but sometimes she could get a little too excited. She was right though, everyone knew that the heads had a private dorm, but not that many people knew where it was. The past heads normally only told their friends, all of whom graduated at the end of the year with them. "I don't know where the dorm is, Dumbledore never said in the letter, but I expect we'll find out tonight. Don't worry, you and Frank will be the first to know where it is. And you already know that I don't know who the head boy is. Dumbledore was being really vague in his letter. I think he wants it to be a surprise. All I know is that it's not Remus and it's not Frank. Which is a shame really, because they're the only two who I really wanted it to be. I swear I'll kill someone if its Diggory. There no bloody way that I'll spend the next year sharing a dorm with him." Lily finished her little rant.

Alice just stared at her laughing silently. "Only you Lily pad, Only you..." With that. Both her and Frank burst into loud guffaws.

When both of them were finally able to talk again, Alice said, "it's a shame about the head boy though. Dumbledore really didn't give you any hints as to who it would be?"

"Nope," Lily replied. "All the note said was: I think that you and our new Head Boy will make a formidable team. I honestly have no clue who it could be, I sent Remus an owl over the summer telling him about my appointment. I asked if he was named head boy, and his response seemed like he was hiding something, but it's not him, I'm sure of that."

"Huummmm," Alice said thoughtfully, but she was interrupted by Frank.

"It's not Remus," Frank said with a twinkle in his eye.

"How do you," Alice started. "Wait- you know who the head boy is?" Frank nodded sheepishly, but she continued," But how did you...Why didn't you...who is it?"

"It's a surprise," he said looking at Lily. "He wants it to be a surprise."

"But you can tell me, right?" Alice pleaded, looking right into his eyes with her famous pout. Nobody, NOBODY except maybe Frank could resist these pouts. Alice knew it was futile, but she had to try anyway.

"Fine, I'll tell you," Frank said. Alice squealed in anticipation, she wanted in on the secret. He gestured at her to lean closer to him, so she leaned her face down so that it was right next to his. Frank lifted his head quickly, gave her a peck on the lips and said, "after she leaves!" He pulled back slightly, looking amused at his little trick.

Alice's face was priceless, her face was still frozen from when he had kissed her. When she slowly raised her head up, her face represented the saying 'if looks could kill. "You GIT, Frank Longbottom!" She screamed loudly. Heads turned towards them from all around the platform, but Alice didn't seem to care.

At this, Frank burst into loud guffaws again which he didn't seem to be able to control enough to stop. Alice choose to ignore this completely however, and she turned towards Lily and started a polite conversation about the summer holidays with her, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, and that her boyfriend hadn't just tricked her. If there was anything that Alice hated, it was being one upped by someone-especially Frank. Lily tried to pay more attention to what Alice was talking about, but all she could think about was who she would be sharing a dorm with.

"Heard our roommate was a git," said Sirius as he walked into the compartment with Remus and Peter and plopped down onto an empty seat. "Tell me something I don't know, Fortescue!"

Frank made to punch Sirius, Alice just stuck her tongue out at the boys, and Lily just glared at them. They, along with their leader James Potter were collectively known as the Marauders, and were the worst troublemakers in Hogwarts history. Although, even she had to admit, not all of them were that bad. After the incident at the lake at the end of her fifth year, she had been on much better terms with the marauders. The seven of them hung out as a group most of the time now too.

Peter was more of a follower than an instigator and he usually just went along with whatever the others were doing. Remus was her favourite, and if she were being completely honest with herself, she actually considered her fellow prefect a friend. Lily really had hoped that he would be the head boy this year. Sirius was a trouble maker, and his only saving grace in her books was that he hadn't tried to ask her out every day for the past four years like his doppelgänger best friend James Potter. James was a cocky arrogant toe rag in Lily's books, and nothing would ever change that.

"Where's Potter?" She asked, referring to the chief marauder who seemed to be suspiciously absent. It was never a bad thing when one of them was missing, especially if the others all had smirks on their faces.

"Don't fret Lily Pad. He's just not here yet, but don't worry," Sirius said, "I'll tell him you missed him!"

"Don't call me that!" Lily hissed, "and don't you dare!"

Sirius smirked, he know that she hated it when he used Alice's nickname for her. "What? Lily Pad? Then what should I call you if not that?" He asked innocently.

She glared at him. "Evans!" She snarled. "Just like you have been for the last six years. Nothing needs to change."

"Oh but it does Lily Pad. It defiantly does," he said. Sirius snapped his fingers, "I've got it. Lil!"

"No!" She shouted.

"Lily Flower?"

"NO!"

Sirius thought long and hard for a moment before he looked up with a mischievous grin. "Tiger Lily!

"Absolutely Not!"

Sirius continued on, ignoring Lily, "and we'll call you Tiger for short. Which is perfect really, because you've got quite the temper!"

Lily gave him a death stare, but he didn't even seem fazed by it. Everyone else tried not to show the fact that they were laughing. "Black," she said in an eerily calm voice, "one day this will come back to haunt you."

"Is that a threat or a promise?" He asked with a grin.

"Both!"

"Whatever you say...Tiger," he said.

"Uggggghh!" Lily exclaimed. This was the exact reason she hated the Marauders. Her shriek made Sirius smile more, and Alice had to cough to hide her own laugh. Lily glared at her.

"Say Tiger," Sirius said casually," shouldn't you be in the head compartment by now?"

"Lily looked down at her watch. Bloody H-" she started. "Look what you made me do!"

"I didn't do anything except distract you from who head boy was and give you a new nickname tiger!" He said with a wink.

"That's right," Lily said. "You also made me late for my meeting, now what'll the head boy think. I need to show that I'm taking this position seriously and you're not helping with that. Speaking of which, do you know who the head boy is?"

All four of the boys snickered. Remus was the first one to recover, "sure, we ran into him on our way to meet up with James. He was running a bit late, and told us to find a compartment. Only problem is that this was the only one left. So...we were wondering if we could sit here."

"Sure, sure, fine," lily said impatiently, she didn't like the snickers or knowing smiles they were busy exchanging with Frank . It's not like it really mattered, they already sat together in the great hall and common room because they were the only Gryffindor's in their year. Besides, she actually did enjoy hanging out with Remus and Peter. Sometimes even Sirius if he was on his best behaviour. The only one she truly had problems with was Potter. "Now tell me who the head boy is!"

"It's-," Peter started to say.

"It's not like we're going to tell you, Tiger. It's supposed to be a surprise." Sirius interrupted, while shoving Peter in the side.

"Oh it'll be a surprise alright." Remus said quietly.

Lily glared at the boys one last time, smiled at Alice and then stepped out of the compartment. She stopped on the other side of the door when she heard Alice squeal, "tell me...tell me...tell me!" There was some shuffling behind the door and a whisper that Lily couldn't quite hear. Then Alice shrieked and started to laugh. Lily sighed it was going to be Amos, she just knew it. Resigned to her fate, she slowly made her way to the prefect compartment. Well, as slowly as somebody who was late could go.

When she finally reached the prefect compartment five minutes later, she was already exhausted. She had needed to stop twice in order to confiscate a fanged frisbee from a pair of fourth year Hufflepuff boys. She took a deep breath before she opened the compartment door and walked in.

Sitting in the head boy chair was the last person she would have expected to see-James Potter. Her mouth fell open, surly this was some kind of funny joke. Dumbledore must be playing a trick on her. James Potter, the arrogant toerag could not be head boy the hopeful side of her brain told her. But, the rational side said, he's in the compartment, and only the heads and prefects know the password. This had to be a trick! James Potter couldn't be head boy, he just couldn't be!

"What's up Lily?" James asked casually.

"It's Evans to you Potter!"

James chuckled. "But L-Evans don't you think we should be on a first name basis since we're going to be working together for the next year. "

"What are you talking about?" She demanded.

"Why do you think I'm here Evans? To serenade the meeting?"

"Isn't this a joke?" Lily said looking around. Her head was whirring, James Potter couldn't be head boy.

"Um...no?" He asked, hoping it was the right answer.

"What are you getting at potter? Why are you here? Actually, I know why you're here, and just to speed up the process a little bit my answer is no and you can leave now. Goodbye."

"Lily I'm not here to ask you out, although if you wanted to t-"

"POTTER!" She warned.

"I'm here for the meeting,"

"Why?"

"You know Evans for someone who's supposed to be so smart, you really should know the answer to that...I'm head boy."

She just stared at him. "This is some kind of joke, you can't be head boy"

"Oh but I am Evans! Isn't it wonderful, we get to live together for the entire year!" He gave her his signature cocky grin. It usually made all the girls quiver, but for some unknown reason, it only made Lily even madder.

"You're a marauder!"

"So?"

"So you're the biggest trouble maker in the school. Last year you locked all of the Slytherins in their dorm with a Lion after y-"

She was cut off by James slapping a hand over her mouth. "Shhhh. They never found out who did that and I don't intend for them too."

"Don't worry Potter, I won't tell anyone. I thought it was pretty funny actually," she told him. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here."

James could barely concentrate enough to answer her. Lily Evans had just admitted to liking his prank. He almost screamed out loud at the revelation. "I already told you Evans, I'm head boy."

"How?" She asked," you can't be."

"I don't know anymore that you Evans. Maybe Dumbledore's finally gone loopy?" This time they both chuckled. "I was even more shocked than you when the letter came. I have a reputation to uphold after all."

Lily snorted disapprovingly through her smile. "Only you would be worried about your reputation over the safety of the students. Use your brain James, you're just as smart as me. Dumbledore chose you because you be a good leader. Don't you want to prove him right?"

James looked shocked. She thought it was because he was thinking about why Dumbledore chose him, but when he spoke he said, "You think I'm just as smart as you. That's the first compliment you've ever given me!"

Lily was thoughtful for a second, "I guess it was Potter, but don't expect it to happen again. That was a one-time only momentary lapse in judgement."

"Sure, Sure," he said distractedly, cutting off her next thought, "and don't worry Evans I won't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret"

Lilly blinked for a second. He had just answered her unasked question about silence. _Maybe he wasn't that bad after all she thought. No, she couldn't think like that. He was James Potter after all. He was just an arrogant cocky toe rag and nothing more._ She blinked again. "Thanks Potter, I have a reputation to uphold you know!"

They both laughed loudly at that. When they could both talk again, James looked up at her seriously. "I really am going to try and be a good head. I'm not just going to goof off. I've actually grown up a lot this summer Evans.

Lily looked at him hard for a moment, studying him. She saw nothing but truth in his hazel eyes-wait since when did she notice the colour of his eyes. She would have to think about that later. "Ok," she told him finally.

"Ok?" he asked confused.

She looked at him for a second, "Yes James, Ok."

They were both silent for a minute. "So," James said, breaking the silence.

"So," Lily replied.

"What happens now?" he asked.

Lily thought for a second, "I'm actually not quite sure. I thought there would be a letter from Dumbledore somewhere. He didn't really say much when he told me about my position. Did you see anything?" James didn't get a chance to reply to this because the second Lily mentioned Dumbledore, a letter appeared on the table in front of them.

"It's right there," James said cheekily pointing his finger at the letter.

"Very funny Mr. Potter," she said while reaching for the letter and opening it up. She unfolded the paper and held it out so they could both see it, but James grabbed it from her hand and began to read.

**Dear Mr. Potter and Miss. Evans,**

**Congratulations on becoming Head Boy and Head Girl respectively, I know you will both fit these appointments very well.**

**At this point I am guessing that you are both wondering what to do next. In about twenty minutes all of the prefects will arrive for the meeting. Start off by making any necessary introductions. After that you should address any concerns that they might have and assign patrols for the rest of the journey. Miss Evans knows how this works should there be any questions.**

**What you may not know is that I like to meet with each year's new heads before the term starts. This letter will act as a portkey and take both of you directly to my office. Simply say the name of Gryffindor's founder once you have finished the meeting. I look forward to seeing you both this afternoon,**

**Professor Dumbledore**

James looked up from the letter, "Well that was strange."

Lily looked puzzled, "Yes," she said, "It was."

James just chuckled, "He's Albus Dumbledore, he's the definition of the word strange. They both laughed at this. "What did he mean by assigning patrols?"

"Oh its really simple," Lily explained. "We just need to make up a schedule for when the prefects should be patrolling the train. We have to make monthly ones for for the castle as well.'

"Excellent," James said while rubbing his hands together. He reached down and grabbed some parchment and a quill from his bag and began to make a list of names. Lily decided to monitor him by watching over his shoulder. She still had some doubts about his newfound maturity. It was a good thing she did, because about ten minutes later she had to stop him from matching up all of the Slytherin and Hufflepuff's together.

"James," she said. "You said you matured over the summer. Stop picking on the Slytherins."

"Lily, I said I grew up over the summer, I never said I died. Have a sense of humor. Besides, it's only Amos Diggory, and he's a bit of a snake himself."

They both started to laugh at that, and even Lily had to admit that there was some truth to his statement after what she had witnessed last year. She decided to tell James one of the more scarier things that she had seen in her six years at Hogwarts, "Last year, I walked into an empty classroom and saw him trying on a set of Slytherin robes." This sent James to the floor laughing in hysteria, and Lily bent over on her chair trying to catch her breath.

That's how Remus and Alice found them five minutes later when they showed up for the meeting. They exchanged a puzzled look.

"Lily Pad?" Alice asked quietly. She had been expecting to see blood on the walls after Frank told her who the Head Boy was.

"Prongs?" Remus questioned. He didn't know what he expected to find when he opened the door, but it certainly wasn't this.

At the sound of their nicknames, both lifted their heads towards the compartment door. Their two friends just stood there with expressions of shock on their faces.

"I came as soon as they let me," Alice started to say. "I didn't really expect to see this though. What exactly is this?"

Lily and James both exchanged a look. Lily opened her mouth to try and explain. It didn't really help however, because the only thing she could say was, "Nothing."

Alice and Remus looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Both had wanted their best friends to get together for years, and if whatever had happened before they showed up was going to help that, both were all for it. They laughed at their friends and took their two seats at the table in the center of the room. Almost immediately, the rest of the prefects began to enter the compartment.

Lily stood up to welcome everyone to the meeting, and after a sharp look from Lily, James stood up too. Once everybody was seated around the table, Lily began to talk, "Hello everybody. As you can see, Potter and I are this year's head's. We want to keep this as short as possible, so if everybody can just introduce themselves that would be great."

"Is this some kind of joke?" A sixth year Slytherin asked. The other prefects laughed.

"Not at all Black," sneered James. "And I suggest that you show your head's some respect, or you may just find this year to be particularly difficult. Understand?"

Regulus glared at him, but nodded. However, before anyone could begin their introduction they were once again interrupted. This time by a fifth year Ravenclaw, "I think it's wonderful. Maybe it'll help them stop fighting all the time."

Everybody in the room just turned and stared at him. It was common knowledge that Lily and James fought, but nobody ever brought it up in front of them unless they has a death wish. Lily was the first person to recover, "Thank you Xeno. We'll keep that in mind." A few of the Gryffindor's laughed. If there was anyone who could get away with that, it was Xenophilius Lovegood, self-proclaimed crumple horned snorkack hunter.

Alice took pity on her friends, and decided to help them get the meeting back on track by beginning her introduction. Remus quickly followed suit. Everything went according to plan until the last two introductions.

Lily signaled for the nest person to begin, and it just happened to be Amos Diggory. He opened his mouth to start talking, however no words came out. Instead, everybody heard a distinct hissing sound, almost as if he had swallowed a snake. All of the prefects were trying to contain their laughs, which were either directed at Amos, or at the Slytherins disgusted faces. Before Lily could contain them, James gestured at the last prefect to go ahead.

Severus Snape opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a dung bomb exploded under his chair. Lily turned and glared at James, but instead found him just as equally surprised as her. He was laughing, but was surprised none the less. She glanced around the room and saw Mandy Parkinson grinning. Well, she thought, I guess that relationship didn't survive the summer. She glanced at James and motioned for him to finish the meeting, it was really starting to smell in there.

"Right," he said. "So now that everybody knows everybody lets finish this meeting so that we can all leave. We'll have meetings every couple of months or so, and we'll post a new patrol rota each month. For now, Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's patrol on the train, and the Slytherin's and Hufflepuff's can patrol for the rest of the week. Dismissed!"

He left no room for argument, and heard many whoops and complaints as all the prefects filed out of the compartment. Soon, it was only himself, Lily, Remus and Alice that were left.

"Why didn't you tell me Prongs?" said Remus. "His face was priceless!"

"I didn't do it!" James said quickly. He didn't want Lily to think he was immature.

"Ya right," said Alice. "A dung bomb just happens to go off under Snivellus' chair and the two marauders in the room have absolutely nothing to do with it."

"I didn't!" James protested. Alice and Remus looked unconvinced.

"He actually didn't," Lily said as tears of laughter ran down her face. Alice and Remus starred at her with open mouths and dumbfounded expressions.

"Did she-" Alice started.

"No-" Remus said.

"Yes she-"

"I know-"

Alice looked up at Lily again, "You just defended James Potter. " she said in disbelief. "Maybe we interrupted a little bit more that nothing when we came in here earlier Remus. She actually just defended him against playing a prank on Snivellus. I never thought I would ever see that happen. We should leave so that they can continue doing...nothing," she said winking at Lily.

"Sure, we'll see you guys later," he said while they walked towards the door, both smirking as they ignored the protests coming from their two friends.

"ALICE!" Lily shrieked as the door slammed closed. She turned to face James and found him blushing. _He was cute when he blushed, she thought. Wait, what...she did not just think that about James Potter. He's just an arrogant toerag she reminded herself._

"Sorry about that," he said. "It actually wasn't me, it was-"

"Mandy Parkinson," she said.

"How did you know that?" he asked.

Lily smiled, "I saw her grinning when it went off."

James laughed, "I don't think their relationship survived the summer."

"My thoughts exactly," Lily replied. "Wow, that's a first!" They both chuckled.

James grabbed the letter off the table and held it out so that Lily could also touch it. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Sure, let's get this over with. I've never liked portkey's," she said.

"I hate them too," James said chuckling."It'll be over soon though. Godric Gryffindor." And with that, they both felt the familiar tug at their navels as the portkey took them to Hogwarts.

**A/N: Wow! Thank you so much to everybody who's read my story. I really hope you like it so far! Please leave a review of what you loved or hated, and any feedback you have. Thanks SO MUCH!**


	2. You Want to What?

**Stag and Doe: A Lily and James Story**

**Chapter Two: You Want to What?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters. That right belongs to the one and only talented J.K. Rowling. Too bad...**

**A/N: Hi Everybody! I really hope you're liking the story so far. Please remember to read and review! I love to hear what you think about my story even if it's just a simple "I loved it!" or "I hated it!" (Although hopefully not the last one!) Thanks so much to Shorty412 for the review...it really made me smile:) Enjoy the next chapter...**

Lily felt herself lurch forward and knew that she was falling. This happened every time she took a portkey. She prepared herself to hit the cold stone floor of the castle, so to say that she was surprised when she instead fell on something warm and squishy was an understatement. She let out a small shriek, and turned her head to see what had happened. Her entire face flushed red when she saw what-who she had landed on. _What is happening to me_, she thought. Awkwardly, she got up from her spot on James Potter's chest, aware as she did so that most of the girls at school would kill to be in her position right now.

"Sorry Potter," she said. "I didn't mean to fall like that."

James looked up at her surprised. He was expecting her to be screaming and cursing at him for being that close to her, not an apology. "S'ok," he said after a second, trying to keep his composure. On the outside he kept up his neutral face, but on the inside he was jumping for joy. He had actually touched Lily Evans. He had actually felt the body of Lily-frekin' Evans, the love of his life, pressed against his chest. Sure, he had felt this with other girls, but not one of them compared to what he felt now with Lily. He wasn't in love with them, they just provided a nice distraction. _Pull yourself together Prongs, _he thought to himself. _Way to act manly. _He quickly snapped out of his thoughts of unrequited love, and noticed the awkward silence that had arisen between them.

James looked around, hoping for a sign that would tell them what to do next. He saw a huge oak door, and recognized it as the door to the Headmaster's office. He looked at Lily questioningly, "Erm, should we just go in?"

"We should probably knock first," she told him.

James laughed, "Right, knock. I'll just do that now," he stammered. _What was wrong with him,_ he thought. _He was stammering in front of a girl, and James Potter never stammered in front of a lady._

_Is he nervous,_ Lily thought to herself. _Wow, that'd be a first._ Her thoughts were interrupted by a tired sounding voice saying, "Come in."

She and James exchanged bewildered look at the sound of the voice, before they both entered through the door to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore's voice always sounded wise and important, never tired. "Hello Miss. Evans, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore greeted them as they entered. "I trust that you have had a good journey thus far."

"Good Afternoon Sir," Lily said, while taking a seat in one of the comfy armchairs in front of the desk.

"Hello Professor," said James, also taking a seat in one of the chairs. "It was great," he said happily while giving Lily a little wink. She glared at him.

Dumbledore smiled and pretended not to notice the exchange between the two students. He had high hopes for them this year, and he wasn't going to get in the way of a relationship where he felt there was some true chemistry. "Excellent, Excellent," he said. "Now, on to the point of this meeting. Thankfully, it has only been in the past five years or so that I have had to have this meeting."

When he saw the puzzled looks from the two, Dumbledore decided to explain further. "I asked you to come here early so that I could talk to you about the troubling times that our society is in. Before the war, the head students used to only have a meeting with their heads of house. Now however, I have taken it upon myself to talk to each one to make sure that they truly understand the current situation."

When he saw nods of understanding from both of them, he continued. "Voldemort is recruiting," he said in a grave voice, pleased when neither James nor Lily flinched at the sound of the name. In fact, it was just the opposite as both teens straightened in their chair at the sound.

"So it's true then sir, what they were saying at the start of summer." Lily asked quietly.

Dumbledore regarded both teens with his piercing blue eyes for a long moment, searching. When he saw what he was looking for, he continued. "Yes," he said sadly. "But before I continue I must ask, how much do you two know about the man who calls himself Lord Voldemort?"

"I'm afraid I don't really know anything sir," Lily said in a small voice. She looked over at James, and was shocked to see that he was a little green

"M- My parents told me," James said solemnly.

"Ah, I thought that Charlus might have told you. You will wait while I inform Miss. Evans?"

"Of course," James said quietly. 

Dumbledore regarded Lily again, " Many years ago, during the time when Professor Dippet was still headmaster here, there was a student named Tom Marvolo Riddle. He was in Slytherin house, and was well liked by many of the teachers at the school. I was the only one that could see through his disguise, and could do nothing to persuade the other teachers otherwise. Unfortunately, he soon became fascinated by all things involving dark magic. Soon after he left school, he asked for a teaching position at the school. Headmaster Dippet declined, saying that he was too young to teach, and to come back in a few years. Soon after that, Lord Voldemort surfaced.

Lily let out a small gasp, but when she said nothing else Dumbledore continued, "You are aware of the reasons of the war, I believe?"

Lily nodded, "He doesn't believe that people like me are worth of magic. Muggleborns," she said. If possible, James turned an even sicker shade of green at this. He hated to be reminded of the danger her blood status placed her in.

"Yes," Dumbledore continued quietly. "He believes in blood purity, and thinks that those who are not pure are undeserving of magic. He is trying to exterminate all those who he deems are unworthy of his new pureblood regime." His voice took on a bitter tone at the end. He still felt guilty about doing nothing to stop Tom in his early days. He had known that there was some troubling things surrounding the boy, but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that things would get this bad.

Both students nodded at this, it was nothing new. They had faced things like this from the Slytherin students over the past years for being either a muggleborn or a blood traitor.

"Now," Dumbledore said. "I am telling you both this because he is recruiting and you need to be prepared. I believe that he will target the two of you in particular to join his cause.

"Me?" Lily asked in surprise. "Professor, surly not. I'm a muggleborn. He won't want me."

Dumbledore regarded her for a moment, "That may be true Lily, but I believe that he would be willing to forget that little fact due to your talents." He saw that she was about to protest, so he continued. "You are a very talented witch Lily, especially in potions and charms, and he will have take notice of that. Also, both you and Mr. Potter here now hold very important positions at the school. Positions that have much power, and that will not have slipped his mind either."

"How?" James asked. "It's not like he can just waltz onto the grounds and ask us to join himself. This caused all three of them to smile slightly.

"My best guess," Dumbledore said regarding the students. "Letters, Other students. Both are strong possibilities because as much as I wish to pretend otherwise, there are some students here that do support him. 

"Nott, Avery," James said with pure hatred in his voice. He looked over at Lily to gage her reaction before he said the last name, "Snape."

He had expected her to be angry for accusing her old friend of being a death eater, but instead she just smiled sadly at him. "Yes, what can we do professor? I don't want to be useless." James nodded his head at this too.

"For now," Dumbledore said, "Just be aware, use this new knowledge to watch for any suspicious behaviour. Most of all, just be careful. I wouldn't want to have to replace my head students so early into the new term."

James and Lily let out a small laugh, but then became serious once more. "Of course, Professor. We'll do our best," said Lily.

"Yes, and please let us know if we can do anything else," James said.

Dumbledore nodded his head. "Now, if there is nothing else to discuss, I suggest making your way down to the great hall to see Professor McGonagall. She will show you to your new dorm."

"Sure Sir," said James. Both he and Lily got up from their seats. 

"Thank you, professor," said Lily, smiling at obvious the dismissal. "See you at the feast."

"Yes, " said Dumbledore. "Oh, and if you ever need to talk, the password is Smarties."

"Thank you Sir," They both said together, before walking through the huge oak door and down the spiral staircase.

Lily looked over at James once they were in the corridor, and saw that he was deep in thought. She thought about interrupting, but decided to wait.

Finally, after a long couple of seconds, James asked, "What's a Smartie?"

Lily burst out laughing, it was so weird to hear such a strange question about something so...normal. "That's what you were thinking about?"

James nodded his head eagerly. Lily laughed again, "I thought it was something serious," she said while laughing again. "Well, a smartie is a type of muggle candy. It-"

"Does it make you smarter?" he asked.

Lily laughed again, it felt so bizarre to talk to a wizard about muggle things. "No, she said. It's just a candy, it has a candy shell and a chocolate center."

James still looked puzzled, "Do you have any?"

"I think I haves some in my trunk. Would you like to try some?" she asked.

"Sure," James said curiously. He was about to say something else, but they had already reached the great hall, and he was interrupted by somebody's voice.

"Miss. Evans, Mr. Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Congratulations! I am so proud to have both of the head's from my house. I must say that I was surprised by your appointment Mr. Potter at first, but I believe that the two of you will make a formidable team. "

"Thank you Professor," said James. He had always liked the Professor, and it helped that he was her favourite student due to his transfiguration skills. "I'll try not to disappoint."

She smiled fondly at him, and looked at Lily. "I always knew that you would be head girl, dear. Congratulations," she said.

"Thank you Professor. I'll try my best." Lily said.

"Your best will be wonderful," the professor replied, making Lily blush.

Other teachers began to make their way over to the two Gryffindors to offer their congratulations. Professor Slughorn was very vocal when telling Lily that he's always known she'd do well. Once everybody had gotten their say, McGonagall led James and Lily from the hall through the corridors to their new head dorm.

After they went up the marble staircase they went up the stairs to the seventh floor corridor towards the Fat Lady's painting.

"Lily, James," she sang. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks Fat Lady," Lily said. 

"Thank you, Elizabeth," James said, ignoring the professors glare when he used her first name. "I trust you had a great summer."

"Yes, Yes," the Fat Lady replied. "It got even better when I found out I wouldn't woken up at god knows what hour to let you in this year."

All three of them laughed at this. "You know you love me Elizabeth," James said.

The Fat Lady blushed a little bit at this_. Wow,_ thought Lily. _He even had portraits falling for him. _

"The first password of the year is Devils Snare," said McGonagall. "It should be changed every month or so."

Lily and James both nodded, so she continued down the corridor. They stopped in front of a painting that showed the four founders of the school, which was found just off the main part of the hall.

"Here it is. The password is Godric, but it can be changed at any time. The feast starts in about an hour, Enjoy." she told them before walking away.

James and Lily stood their awkwardly for a second, before James stepped forward and gave the password.

They both walked through the portrait hole, and stopped for a second, looking around. The head dormitory was amazing. It had a small common room with two couches, a love seat and a few armchairs that were decorated in Gryffindor red and gold. There was a huge fireplace in the corner, and even a small coffee nook beside it. On the other side of the room, there was two large mahogany desks, and three doors. Two had a small spiral staircase leading up to them, and the other was a large mahogany door with a large brass knocker on it. Lily walked over to the door, and opened it. Inside was a large bathroom, with a bathtub that was even bigger that the one the Prefects used.

"Wow," James said from behind her. She jumped, she hadn't realized how close he had gotten. "Sorry L-Evans," he said apologetically.

She blushed. _Wait, what?_ she thought. _Since when did Potter make her blush? _"It's fine, Potter. I'm going to check out my room," she said.

She walked back out into the common room followed by James, and up the stairs to the right. James kept following her. She turned around questioningly. "Yes?" she asked.

"Do you think the charm still works in here?" he asked. When she looked at him puzzled, he continued. "On the girls stairs in the common room. Do you think I'll be able to get up your stairs in here?"

Lily thought about that for a second. She had no idea. "I don't know," she said truthfully.

"Well then," said James. "There's only one way to find out."

Lily, curious about the answer, let him follow her up the stairs. When nothing happened to stop him, James started to smile. When he reached her room, and walked in, he started to laugh. "Excellent," he said.

"Potter," Lily said in a warning tone.

"Don't worry Evans," he said. "This just means that there's a way for the enchantment to be broken. It'll help Sirius with his quest to get up to the girls dorm in Gryffindor tower."

They both laughed, "That sounds about right," she said.

James smiled. "I'm going to check out my room," he said, before descending the spiral staircase.

Once he was gone, Lily looked around her room. It was once again decorated in red and gold, and there was a large mirror, another desk and a huge armoire in the room. She had visions of Alice _borrowing_ the armoire to store _just a few_ outfits in it. Finishing off the room was the large double bed in the center. She knew just from looking at it that it would be much more comfortable than her old one in Gryffindor Tower.

When she was done looking around she went back down the stairs. It was almost time to go back to the great hall for the welcome feast. James was already sitting on one of the couches when she reached the common room.

"Evans," he said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Lily looked at him, "Can't it wait, Potter?"

"Please?" he said again. He knew what he had to say was going to be hard and he wasn't sure if he would be able to buck up the courage again later to ask her.

Lily sighed and sat down, "Yes Potter?" she asked. She was actually getting a little bit scared because of how nervous he looked.

"I already told you that I grew up this summer," He said. She nodded her head in agreement, so he continued, "But I also did a lot of thinking this summer. And I mean a lot Evans. I realized that I don't want to fight with you anymore. I don't want to argue, and don't want to duel. That's not how I want to remember our last year at Hogwarts."

Lily nodded her head again. That's not what she wanted either, especially now that they would be living together for the next year. As she thought that, she realized that she actually wasn't dreading it like she would have last year, in fact, a small part of her was actually looking forward to it.

"So," he said. "I was hoping that we could be friends this year. Just Friends, Evans. Nothing more. I'm not going to ask you out anymore, and I'm not going to torment you, publically or otherwise. I've moved on." James swallowed, _it was hard to lie to her_, he thought. He actually hadn't moved on one bit, in fact, if it was even possible he felt as if he loved her even more now than before. However, he knew that he had to choose between a year of trying to get her to date him, or just being her friend. In the end, he had decided that the best thing to do for her was to just be her friend.

James finally looked up at her instead of the spot on the couch that he had been staring at."So Evans, what do you say?" He asked.

Lily slowly got up. She couldn't believe what she was about to do. She had no idea why she was even going to do it, but she felt that it was the right decision. She scooted over to where James sat on the couch and gave him a hug. It took a full ten seconds for his arms to get over the shock and return the hug. When he had wrapped his arms around her she finally answered him, "James?"

James unwrapped his arms and looked down at her, "What?"

"My friends,' she said slowly, "call be Lily."

James stared at her for a second before he realized the meaning of what she said. He whooped in triumph and gave her another hug. He felt as if pure happiness was radiating from his body. "So Lily," he said, happily trying out the new name, "Do you think you can handle being my friend?"

"James," she said with a smirk. "I think the better question is if you can handle being mine?"

They both laughed at this. "Thank you, Lily." James said after a minute. "I'm really glad we're friends."

"Me too James," she replied. "I think this year just got a lot more interesting."

The both laughed, "Defiantly," James agreed.

They were silent for a few peaceful seconds, both lost in their own thoughts.

"So," James said, breaking the silence. "Dinner?" he asked while holding out his arm jokingly. Lily laughed and grabbed it, allowing him to pull her off the couch and escort her down to the great hall. _This,_ James thought excitedly, _Is going to be a great year._

Most of the students were already in the hall when they got there, so it took the pair a full minute to find their friends. They both sat down once they reached the table, and Alice excitedly began to bombard her friend with questions.

"Lily Pad," she squealed, "Tell me everything. Where is it? What-"

Alice stopped talking suddenly, "You look different."

Lily blushed slightly, she had an idea of what Alice was talking about, but she didn't want to give her the satisfaction of being right. "No I don't," she said.

"Yes you do," she insisted. "You're blushing, and you look...happier!" With her words, the marauders and Frank turned towards them.

"Alice," Lily complained.

"Yes Lily Pad?" she asked sweetly.

Lily glared at her_. Oh well,_ she thought. _It was going to come out eventually._ "We're friends," she mumbled, hoping that they couldn't hear her.

Everyone gasped in surprise. They all knew exactly what she was talking about without any further explanation. Alice cheered. Sirius whooped and said, "Atta Boy Prongs!"

James and Lily exchanged a glance, James just shrugged his shoulders. He was used to his friends exuberance, and was actually proud of Sirius for keeping his reaction so tame. Lily started to laugh, and soon James and the others joined in. Lily decided that this was just part of being James' friend, and that she was going to enjoy it.

They were still laughing like this when Dumbledore called for attention, so they all quieted down and listened to their last start of term speech. It seemed as though they had already missed the sorting.

"Welcome to a new year," he said. "To our new students, welcome! And to our old students, welcome back! This is going to be an exciting year. First years, this is the beginning of your magical education. Fifth years, you will be studying hard for your O. and Seventh years, your N.E.W.T.S are here already. I have a few start of term announcements, first years should note that the forest outside the school is forbidden to all students. Also, with a new year comes new leaders, and am very proud to announce this year's head boy and girl. If you could just stand when I say you name. This year, I am glad to say that the Head Girl is none other than Miss. Lily Evans."

She stood, and everybody clapped for her. It wasn't a surprise that she was chosen. Dumbledore continued, "And the new head boy, Mr. James Potter." James stood, and there were many gasps from around the room along with much applause and laughter. People were is disbelief that one of the Marauders could have been chosen for such a position.

"I believe that they will both help make this year at Hogwarts one of the best ever," Dumbledore continued. "Now, Let the feast begin!" With that all of the plates filled with food, and chatter began to fill the hall.

Although there were many different topics of conversation between the Gryffindor seventh years, the most important by far was the conversation between the four marauders. 

"Is everyone ready?" Remus asked.

Peter nodded his head along with James and Sirius. "Excellent," said Sirius. "Boys, I've got a feeling that this is going to be our best one yet." The others nodded their heads, and were quiet as they waited for the perfect moment to strike.

It came just as the final pudding disappeared from the table, and Dumbledore stood up to dismiss them for the night.

James whispered, "Now!" and all four drew their wands and sent sparks into the air to create a beautiful display of fireworks. This went on for about five minutes, before the words _Marauders: The Last Hurrah_appeared in the sky. The whole school burst into applause, and each of them took their turns to stand up and bow in return.

When things quieted down, Dumbledore stood again. "I was waiting for something to happen," he said to the boys, winking at them. "Now, if that is all of the excitement for the night, I wish everyone farewell and a good night's sleep before tomorrow's lessons."

There was a fair amount of groaning at this, but soon everyone was on their feet and slowly making their way to their common rooms. Once Alice and Remus had ensured that the new first years were being taken up to the tower, they followed the rest of their friends up to the head dormitory.

Once James had said the password to let them in, everybody took their time exploring the dorm. Sirius had been fascinated to find out that he could get up the stairs to Lily's room, and vowed to find out a way to do this in the regular common room before he graduated. Alice had been a little sad when she realized that Lily wouldn't be sharing a dorm with her anymore, but perked up when she realized that she now had a private room and bathroom (though she still insisted that Lily's should be used before formal occasions because it was much bigger). Frank had also been delighted to hear this, and had immediately promised to help Sirius with his quest for the year.

The friends had all sat around the fire talking until around 10pm, when the others left so that they could still get back to the common room before curfew. Although it helped that they had two prefects with them just in case they were caught.

After they left it was just Lily and James sitting around the fire. Lily was being unusually quiet, so James took a chance and asked her, "Are you ok Lily?"

She looked up at him for a moment, and her eyes searched him for a moment, looking for something. When she found what she was looking for, she continued. "Yes," she said. "I'm just thinking. I'm really glad to be back at the castle. It's hard, being at home. My parents, they know something's wrong, but they don't know what to do. They try, but it just isn't the same as being here."

James looked at her, "Everything will be ok Lily," he said.

"Will it?" Lily asked. "You can't know that. Anything could go wrong. There's a war going on outside this castle, people are going to die. It's scary to think about," she finished.

James moved over closer to her and put his arm over her shoulder to provide some comfort. "I know," James told her. "I know that there's a war, and I'm scared too. But I also know that I'm going to fight like hell, and I know that you will too." He wiped off the sole tear that ran down her cheek. She smiled at him and they both just sat there in front of the fire providing much needed comfort to each other.

As the last embers of the fire flickered, Lily slowly got up and was followed by James. "Thank you," she whispered as she gave him a hug. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight James." She gave him one last smile before she walked up the spiral staircase to her room.

She heard James call out, "Goodnight Lily," as she walked up the stairs, and smiled despite herself. _Maybe I misjudged him,_ she thought to herself. _Maybe he's a good guy after all._ She contemplated this as she unpacked her trunk.

This morning, when she got up in her room at home, she never would have imagined that she would be sharing a dorm with James Potter. Or that she would have, despite all odds, become friends with him. Good friends too, because she didn't let just anybody see her when she was upset. She didn't know why, but deep down she trusted James. She knew that he would always be there for her. She didn't know how, but she just knew that he would be.

As Lily fell asleep on her first night in her new dorm, there were many thoughts running through her head. The most important one however was about James Potter, and what exactly he meant to her.

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I really hope you liked it! Please remember to write a review, even if it's just to say you that you loved it or hated it. Reviews are like candy...they brighten my day:) I also make sure check out the stories and favourites of each author that favourites my story or adds me to their alerts, and make sure to read anything that sounds good! **

**What do you guys think...is the story going too slow or too fast? I thought it was important to start developing the new relationship between our two beloved heads and with those around them! Let me know in a review! Also if you have any suggestions feel free to tell me those so much for reading my story and (hopefully) sticking with it!  
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